Traditionally, customer support for technical issues has been performed using technical support call centers. When a customer has a technical issue or trouble with a technology related product, such as high-speed Internet access or a software product, the customer calls the call center to discuss the trouble with a call center agent. However, operation of technical support call centers is expensive.
Technical support call center agents are generally experienced and competent in technology related fields. As such, technical support agents demand higher wages than the average call center agent. In addition, technical support agents undergo expensive training relating to the technology products they support, increasing agent costs.
To reduce costs associated with technical support call centers, some companies have attempted to move technical support call centers to countries with lower labor costs. However, foreign call centers incur increased expenses relating to communication traffic. In addition, companies typically find a shortage in competent and trained agents in the foreign location.
For both regional and foreign call centers, increased usage by customers leads to further increased costs. High call volume leads to high labor costs for regional call centers and high communications traffic and logistics problems for foreign call centers.
For some products, such as high-speed Internet connections and software products, companies have developed automated self-support tools in an effort to reduce call volume. However, these support tools typically do not provide metrics or measurements as to their effectiveness. Therefore, there is a need for improved systems and methods for providing automated self-support tools and for measuring the effectiveness of using such tools.